I'm afraid I had to change the channel before she finished. I couldn't listen to her anymore. Her voice is grating and her speech had no substance. I turned it on with an open mind, but there's no way I can vote for McCain with her as his running mate.

This is exactly how I felt, although I made it through the whole speech. I tried to listen with an open mind, despite the fact that she stands for everything I'm against, but I was so incredibly uncomfortable with her speech. I'm really surprised, actually, that so many people think it was successful. It lacked substance. It was not serious (which, of course, I realize was a rhetorical strategy, using humor to get people on her side and deflect from the issues). It was offensive in its snarky and ignorant attacks on Obama. Also, I was really surprised that she spent half the speech talking about her family considering all of the scandal that's come out in the past few days. I think she should give up on the "family values" angle. I did, however, think the stuff about her oldest son was effective. I'm sure a lot of people listening thought it was refreshing to hear someone supporting the war who has a child fighting there.

Originally Posted by ursula

I agree, especially since lots of folks believe if Bush or Cheney had had offspring in enlisted they would have thought a bit harder about sending them into war. I liked that Biden didn't mention his son going away. His son made the comment about the people looking out for his dad since he wouldn't be here but didn't play the my son is a soldier vote for us card.

Location: Chicago

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"If you don't stand for something you will fall for anything."
— Malcolm X

A couple of things. She's not a great speaker, but she's pretty good and gifted more than most politicians and will improve.

She needs to cut down on the snark. At some point, she just started to come across as angry and hateful, and while that might play with your base, I cannot imagine that would play well with independents.

I hope she doesn't plan on getting a lot of votes of people who work for charities after the "community organizer" comment. It's one thing to say that the job of mayor and organizer are similar, but it's generally not a good idea to tell a whole group of people that they don't have real jobs with real responsibilities.

Also, why does she complain about the media talking about her family, when that is the majority of what she does?

A couple of things. She's not a great speaker, but she's pretty good and gifted more than most politicians and will improve.

She needs to cut down on the snark. At some point, she just started to come across as angry and hateful, and while that might play with your base, I cannot imagine that would play well with independents.

I hope she doesn't plan on getting a lot of votes of people who work for charities after the "community organizer" comment. It's one thing to say that the job of mayor and organizer are similar, but it's generally not a good idea to tell a whole group of people that they don't have real jobs with real responsibilities.

Also, why does she complain about the media talking about her family, when that is the majority of what she does?

Originally Posted by Lucille

She spent the first 10 mins talking about her family and said little tidbits here and there, that was hardly the majority of her speech.

A couple of things. She's not a great speaker, but she's pretty good and gifted more than most politicians and will improve.

She needs to cut down on the snark. At some point, she just started to come across as angry and hateful, and while that might play with your base, I cannot imagine that would play well with independents.

I hope she doesn't plan on getting a lot of votes of people who work for charities after the "community organizer" comment. It's one thing to say that the job of mayor and organizer are similar, but it's generally not a good idea to tell a whole group of people that they don't have real jobs with real responsibilities.

Also, why does she complain about the media talking about her family, when that is the majority of what she does?

Originally Posted by Lucille

She spent the first 10 mins talking about her family and said little tidbits here and there, that was hardly the majority of her speech.

Originally Posted by Amandacurls

You're right. Ten minutes wasn't a majority or 50.0000000001%. It was merely 33.333333%.

The republican party isn't interested in coming together as a nation. I'm beginning to believe that they haven't care about togetherness since Abraham Lincoln. They appear to enjoy the us vs them, black vs white, man vs woman, liberal vs conservative, my culture vs your culture, my religion vs your religion thing. They appear to enjoy the polarization of America. That's what keeps them in power. No wonder we are falling behind other countries.

I knew George Bush would be bad for America. I told everyone within hearing distance. But I also knew that Bush had learned from Reagan that political issues are secondary to pandering to the fears of your average American. If you can tap into this country's fears, your chance of getting elected increases, even if you are a complete idiot.

McCain is no idiot, but his agenda lacks foresight. He will simply retread the same old stuff that hasn't worked. This country is all set to take the next step. Most of us are ready to move to the next level. The Republican party wants to keep us back,. In reality, though they talk about change, they fear it.

I'm tire of all the hate-mongering and fear tactics. Yet, I will have to live with it, because many of you fall for those tactics every time. And it appears as if you are about to fall for them, again.

I'm tire of all the hate-mongering and fear tactics. Yet, I will have to live with it, because many of you fall for those tactics every time. And it appears as if you are about to fall for them, again.

I am a registered Democrat, and although I have some conservative views, I don't see myself voting for a pro-life candidate.

That said, I thought she gave a great speech. I like her personally although I disagree with her on some issues. I think she was a dynamic and confident speaker. Ironically, the Republicans have been bashing D's for months because so many people fell in love with Obama's charismatic speeches.

I think she had to be somewhat snarky to show that she's tough and not afraid to be tough. I also get the sense that's who she really is and that she wasn't trying to prove something.

As a woman and a mother (working in a still male-dominated field), I say "yay!" to Sarah Palin. Good for her for having beliefs and living by them. But the fact that she has a vagina is not enough to make me vote for her.

Loose botticelli curls and waves
No silicones/no sulfates since March 2008

I'm afraid I had to change the channel before she finished. I couldn't listen to her anymore. Her voice is grating and her speech had no substance. I turned it on with an open mind, but there's no way I can vote for McCain with her as his running mate.

This is exactly how I felt, although I made it through the whole speech. I tried to listen with an open mind, despite the fact that she stands for everything I'm against, but I was so incredibly uncomfortable with her speech. I'm really surprised, actually, that so many people think it was successful. It lacked substance. It was not serious (which, of course, I realize was a rhetorical strategy, using humor to get people on her side and deflect from the issues). It was offensive in its snarky and ignorant attacks on Obama. Also, I was really surprised that she spent half the speech talking about her family considering all of the scandal that's come out in the past few days. I think she should give up on the "family values" angle. I did, however, think the stuff about her oldest son was effective. I'm sure a lot of people listening thought it was refreshing to hear someone supporting the war who has a child fighting there.

Originally Posted by ursula

I agree, especially since lots of folks believe if Bush or Cheney had had offspring in enlisted they would have thought a bit harder about sending them into war. I liked that Biden didn't mention his son going away. His son made the comment about the people looking out for his dad since he wouldn't be here but didn't play the my son is a soldier vote for us card.

Originally Posted by YolyC

Now what will be the ramifications when they are elected. Will they reassign their sons to non-combat posts? Will they have the option of choosing to remain with their units?

Overall it was a night of yelling at the TV for me. I tried to listen with an open mind because I do like to hear what each side says but I just couldn't stop myself for getting angry and at times outright laughing. Like Huckaby fearing Obama will bring "European ideas" into office with him. Because apparently nothing in our government has ever been influenced by European ideas. Oh wait, that's right. Jefferson was a big fan of John Locke and Franklin spent a LOT of time in England and France. And then there's the whole Magna Carta influence.

I thought her speech was delivered very well - she's articulate and a fighter. I especially liked her "pitbull with lipstick" line and her bit about offering support for families with special needs kids. BUT since my two biggest concerns happen to be women's right to choose and the environment, there's no possible way I would ever support her. I thought McCain might be palatable, but with this VP choice, he's swinging too far to the right for me.

I am a registered Democrat, and although I have some conservative views, I don't see myself voting for a pro-life candidate.

That said, I thought she gave a great speech. I like her personally although I disagree with her on some issues. I think she was a dynamic and confident speaker. Ironically, the Republicans have been bashing D's for months because so many people fell in love with Obama's charismatic speeches.

I think she had to be somewhat snarky to show that she's tough and not afraid to be tough. I also get the sense that's who she really is and that she wasn't trying to prove something.

As a woman and a mother (working in a still male-dominated field), I say "yay!" to Sarah Palin. Good for her for having beliefs and living by them. But the fact that she has a vagina is not enough to make me vote for her.

As someone who studies speeches and teaches public speaking, I found the speech painful to watch. There were inflections in her voice that showed she was very nervous at the beginning (and rightfully so - I'd be terrified!), and unfortunately it seems like she channeled that into a sarcastic, biting tone rather than getting it under control and speaking calmly.

As for the content, I think it was mis-managed. I have no issue with having speechwriters - nearly every president, including Washington, has had speechwriters - but it would be naieve to assume that only Sarah Palin made the decisions about what was in that speech. (I'm not saying anyone here thinks that - but the media likes to talk about it like she is the only one who had any say about the speech.) There is no way McCain's staff let her go out there and say whatever she wanted; what she said was carefully planned and approved by them. And I think they all dropped the ball.

A better strategy would have been to have her give a short, concise speech on what makes her qualified to be vice president. That speech should not have been 30+ minutes long nor should it have included so many attacks on Obama or such a long section on McCain. It would have given people a positive image of Palin as a candidate and would have dispelled or addressed (with a positive spin) a lot of the concerns that have been swirling about regarding the trooper scandal, her ties to lobbyists, and her former membership in the Alaska Independence Party. It would have had a distinct "back off my family and focus on my qualfications" message, and it would have told us more about her foreign policy experience and emphasized her executive leadership as governor.

Instead, it went on far too long and became sarcastic and biting. I think that it appealed to their conservative base, but probably turned off a lot of independent voters, who are vital to this election.

I am a registered Democrat, and although I have some conservative views, I don't see myself voting for a pro-life candidate.

.......

As a woman and a mother (working in a still male-dominated field), I say "yay!" to Sarah Palin. Good for her for having beliefs and living by them. But the fact that she has a vagina is not enough to make me vote for her.

Originally Posted by LoloDSM

I agree. I would love to see a woman in office, just not this woman.

Location: Chicago

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"If you don't stand for something you will fall for anything."
— Malcolm X

As someone who studies speeches and teaches public speaking, I found the speech painful to watch. There were inflections in her voice that showed she was very nervous at the beginning (and rightfully so - I'd be terrified!), and unfortunately it seems like she channeled that into a sarcastic, biting tone rather than getting it under control and speaking calmly.

As for the content, I think it was mis-managed. I have no issue with having speechwriters - nearly every president, including Washington, has had speechwriters - but it would be naieve to assume that only Sarah Palin made the decisions about what was in that speech. (I'm not saying anyone here thinks that - but the media likes to talk about it like she is the only one who had any say about the speech.) There is no way McCain's staff let her go out there and say whatever she wanted; what she said was carefully planned and approved by them. And I think they all dropped the ball.

A better strategy would have been to have her give a short, concise speech on what makes her qualified to be vice president. That speech should not have been 30+ minutes long nor should it have included so many attacks on Obama or such a long section on McCain. It would have given people a positive image of Palin as a candidate and would have dispelled or addressed (with a positive spin) a lot of the concerns that have been swirling about regarding the trooper scandal, her ties to lobbyists, and her former membership in the Alaska Independence Party. It would have had a distinct "back off my family and focus on my qualfications" message, and it would have told us more about her foreign policy experience and emphasized her executive leadership as governor.

Instead, it went on far too long and became sarcastic and biting. I think that it appealed to their conservative base, but probably turned off a lot of independent voters, who are vital to this election.

Originally Posted by badgercurls

Great insight. Thanks for sharing it. I felt the same way while watching it. She told us very little, and it seemed quite rude for her to be so critical and rude, and even downright nasty, about the Dems when she is such an unproven entity herself. It went on way too long, she talked too slowly, and there was way too much unearned enthusiam from the crowd (honestly, a standing ovation before she spoke even one word? No bias in that crowd...) She stood there basking and basking in it, instead of starting to talk, which would have quieted them down. It gave the impression that she felt she was entitled to all the adoration.

I didn't even know what a "community organizer" was until I heard Obama was one.
Now I do know what it is (they basically complain on behalf of special interest groups) and think it's completely expendible.

As someone who studies speeches and teaches public speaking, I found the speech painful to watch. There were inflections in her voice that showed she was very nervous at the beginning (and rightfully so - I'd be terrified!), and unfortunately it seems like she channeled that into a sarcastic, biting tone rather than getting it under control and speaking calmly.

As for the content, I think it was mis-managed. I have no issue with having speechwriters - nearly every president, including Washington, has had speechwriters - but it would be naieve to assume that only Sarah Palin made the decisions about what was in that speech. (I'm not saying anyone here thinks that - but the media likes to talk about it like she is the only one who had any say about the speech.) There is no way McCain's staff let her go out there and say whatever she wanted; what she said was carefully planned and approved by them. And I think they all dropped the ball.

A better strategy would have been to have her give a short, concise speech on what makes her qualified to be vice president. That speech should not have been 30+ minutes long nor should it have included so many attacks on Obama or such a long section on McCain. It would have given people a positive image of Palin as a candidate and would have dispelled or addressed (with a positive spin) a lot of the concerns that have been swirling about regarding the trooper scandal, her ties to lobbyists, and her former membership in the Alaska Independence Party. It would have had a distinct "back off my family and focus on my qualfications" message, and it would have told us more about her foreign policy experience and emphasized her executive leadership as governor.

Instead, it went on far too long and became sarcastic and biting. I think that it appealed to their conservative base, but probably turned off a lot of independent voters, who are vital to this election.

Originally Posted by badgercurls

Badgercurls
ITA. I was about to say similar things until I saw your post. You said it much better than I.

That little Piper sure was cute when she licked her hand and slicked down the baby's hair. That put a huge smile on my face.

Originally Posted by Sigi

I agree, Piper is cute and so is Trig! I like that the speech had a lot of references to smaller government. I agree that we have no way to really know if either side will keep promises but I've got to go with whomever I think is most likely to shrink government. I have friends that cover the whole spectrum of views and obviously my liberal friends don't like Palin (although a few like what she said about being an advocate for special needs kids, but then I know a lot of special ed teachers since I am one) but they were never going to vote Republican anyway. My conservative friends love her, but they were never going to vote Democrat (although a few were going to sit it out cause they didn't like McCain, but now they're fired up and ready to vote) What is amazing is how fired up and excited some of my libertarian friends are. Palin has united some pretty unlikely groups, things are starting to look interesting!

Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. – P.J. O'Rourke

There is no distinctly native American criminal class save Congress. – Mark Twain